The Finnish media, including Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, have attacked in mob fashion Kimmo Kiljunen, member of the Social Democratic Party and chairperson of the foreign affairs committee, for speaking candidly to representatives of the Alexander Union, a Finnish-Russian association, about the Finnish-Russian border as well as other matters. Today, an editorial by Helsingin Sanomat…
Tag: Russia
‘Aleksanterinliitto ry’ petition to the European Parliament on the closing of the Finnish-Russian border
Migrant Tales insight: Without Aleksanterinliitto ry, the opinions of Finland’s Russian-speaking community would not be heard loud enough. According to Alexey Bulvatsev, the closing of the border has hurt families in Finland and Russia and made travel to Russia more difficult. And adds: “According to the petitioner, Finland is likely to be in breach of…
Finland’s and Estonia’s bullying of Russians
With no solution in sight to the end of the war in Ukraine, part of the collateral damage is the Russian-speaking community of Finland, by far the biggest language group outside of Finnish, Swedish, and Sami. Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, there was a lot of hatred and suspicion of Russians. Even if Finland signed…
Being a Russian minority in an ever-hostile Finland
The Eastern Finnish cities of Joensuu, Imatra and Lappeenranta are aiming to shut down Russian-language schools which has led to an intense debate about the future of such institutions. While some argue about economic factors and lack of demand for the closure of such schools, others point the finger at anti-Russian and anti-foreign sentiment. Katja…
Interioir Minister Mari Rantanen and her “hybrid invaders”
We’ll Never Know.Yes, what Interior Minister Rantanen was thinking in introducing a law to stop “hybrid invaders” from Russia. Our ́́ investigative media` will never ask the right questions. So we can only try to imagine: Scene: “Hybrid invaders.” Inside the Interior Ministry. Cue Rantanen.Rantanen (enters): Our press conference is in half an hour. Any…
Ahti Tolvanen: A war that pushes peace away
More and more Ukrainians are fleeing for their lives to Europe as we mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. It seems the EU and NATO lack the political imagination to do more than worsen the refugee situation in the year ahead. So far 4 million have fled Ukraine and over 40 000 to…
Being a Russian speaker in a Finnish border city when war rages over yonder
Katja Marova, a Russian speaker from the border city of Lappeenranta, spoke to Migrant Tales about how the war in Ukraine had impacted her life as that of other Russian speakers in her home city. Russian speakers are the biggest group in Finland (88,000) followed by Estonian speakers (50,000). The Russian border is only a stone’s throw…
Trump, Putin and the Perussuomalaiset
Former President Donald Trump is a threat to USAmerican democracy, and Russian President Vladimir Putin a threat to world peace. While these leaders spread their toxicity and hatred on other people and nations for political gain, our Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party has nothing more than praise for them. Well, that was before Trump and Putin became…
I fear nationalism and racism as much as Russia
Apart from tightening laws and plans to build a fence on parts of the Finnish-Russian border, politicians in Finland are debating shutting tourism from Russia to Finland. As I have mentioned previously, one of the biggest fears of the war in Ukraine is awakening Finland’s deep distrust and hatred of Russia. The hatred will not…
The PS’ crystal ball racism based on selective scenarios
With the parliamentary election about 10 months away in April 2023 and a disastrous county election showing and equally depressing opinion poll results, it’s clear that the far-right Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is desperately trying to connect with voters. One example of these underhanded tactics is a proposal by the PS to close the border with…